According to the prior art, the meteorological information is supplied to the aircraft in flight via a voice connection from a station situated on the ground. There is no computerized means for transmitting information concerning the phenomena encountered by the aircraft.
Unless otherwise stipulated in the description or the figures, the symbols, acronyms and abbreviations have the French or English meaning as indicated in the table below:
METARMETeorological Airport ReportRoutine meteorological report written inaeronautical meteorological code.TAFTerminal Aerodrome Forecast(or Terminal Area Forecast) Meteorological(AIS)forecastSIGMETSIGnificant METeorologicalInformation concerning the meteorologicalInformationphenomena that may affect the safety of theaircraft.GAMETGround Area METeorologicalArea forecast for low-level flightsInformationAIRMETAIR METeorological InformationPlain language meteorological informationsignificant for light aviation operating at10 000 feet or belowGAFARGeneral Aviation ForecastGeneral forecast for aviation.TEMSISignificant weatherFrench Meteorological Forecast MapWINTEMwind and temperatureWind and temperatureVHFVery High FrequencyVery high frequency used for short- andmedium-distance communications betweenpilots and ground station personnel, theaeronautical VHF frequency band isreserved for aeronautics by internationaltreaties108.000 to 117.950 MHzAeronautical radio navigation (VOR and ILS)117.975 to 137.000 MHzAeronautical traffic, VHF aeronautical band121.5 MHzEmergency frequencyADIRSAir Data Inertial ReferenceSystem for estimating the inertial and airSystemparameters of the aeroplane
The procedure for supplying meteorological information comprises the following steps:    acquisition of the meteorological information by the aeronautical meteorology service from different sources of information (ground meteorological stations, satellites and meteorological observation radar stations),    output of messages (METAR, TAF, SIGMET, GAMET, AIRMET, GAFAR, etc.) of maps and images: TEMSI-WINTEM, satellite and radar, weather front map; observed radio sounding aerology, regional tactical bulletin, local final bulletin;    provision of these data to the navigating crews of the aircraft,    in flight, acquisition of onboard weather radar; limited in performance: no detection of turbulence in clear sky CAT, no vision beyond the first disturbance in front.
These days, the only possibility for a pilot of an aircraft to transmit a weather report concerning the meteorological disturbances encountered is to use a VHF link at a time when the workload of the pilots is high. The report concerning the weather encountered is consequently often made at the end of a flight, which is too late to provide real time assistance to other aircraft.
The meteorological information supplied to the crew is forecast information, generated from aerological modelling. It is not refreshed in flight and does not take account of very localized and violent weather phenomena which may occur beyond these forecasts. The difference between the meteorological forecasts and the real situation encountered in flight is fairly commonplace in navigation.
The highly localized and rapidly changing meteorological conditions are therefore not taken into account by the meteorological stations. These rapid changes are not transmitted to the aircraft in flight in an effective manner.
The in-flight observations of the meteorological situation in real time are therefore important and a great help in comprehending in real time the meteorology of the hazardous phenomena located on the air routes.
Systems have recently emerged that make it possible to collect observation information made available in order to allow for a comprehension of the real meteorological situation, located on the route or in the area in which aircraft are moving.
For example, the document US2002/0039072 discloses a method for collecting and processing these observation data by a station on the ground and broadcasting them to aircraft. However, this method has the drawback of being inoperative when the aircraft (supplying the observation data or receiving the processed data) cannot make contact with the station on the ground. Moreover, it requires a targeted return to the aircraft according to their position in the suspect area.